A painted steel frame is a durable and responsible solution

Written by Pia Anttiroiko • 09/10/2019

Painted steel frames in buildings endure even demanding conditions for decades. In addition to this, the painted surface has several other benefits for both the owner of the building and the environment.

Sometimes, buildings have to endure very heavy stress. Humidity, salinity, pollution, chemicals and heavy winds put stress on the building and its frame. At best, a painted frame prolongs the lifespan of the whole building.

For example, in windy areas the cover fabric of the building moves against the frame. Frames are traditionally coated with a rough zinc surface that chafes the fabric, damaging the coating, protective lacquer and structure of the fabric over the years. The fabric’s ability to repel moisture, mould and dirt weakens.

The painted surface that is smooth enough to fondle, on the other hand, does not wear down the fabric even though it moves in the wind the same way. The fabric is as good as new even after 30 years.

Paint according to the environment and purpose

In addition to external factors, steel frames also face stress from the inside. The interior may be susceptible to condensation or there may be impurities in the indoor air.

The paint endures even demanding conditions when its quality category is chosen in accordance with both the environmental stress of the building site and the purpose of use. The choice is guided by the SFS-EN ISO 12944-2:2017 standards and our extensive experience in supplying buildings for the most demanding environments: our buildings have been delivered to such places as freezing seashores, hurricane zones, deserts and big cities.

The highest paint category C5 endures even extreme stress, such as impurities generated near the building by acids, bases, salts, organic solvents, corrosive gases or dust particles.

You do not need to worry about the paint categories – we will help you determine the requirements of your environment and purpose of use in the beginning of the building purchase process and recommend the best category for the paint.

Paint is a responsible choice

We have painted the frames of our buildings for a long time. In accordance with our responsibility principles, we started using powder coating favoured by the automotive industry and home appliance manufacturers in 2012. Until then, we painted with epoxy.

We had many reasons for this transition: environmental friendliness, improvement of our employees’ working conditions and production efficiency.

Powder coating is more environmentally friendly and better in terms of occupational safety than the sprayed epoxy. In our own paint shop, the powder paint that falls on the floor and sticks firmly on the surface of the frame in the oven does not go to waste, because all surplus powder is meticulously collected and used on the next coating. The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) caused by epoxy and harmful to health are no longer generated.

The surface area of the steel frames that we annually coat with paint is as large as the surface area of the buildings that we deliver. Each choice is surprisingly significant.

Are you considering the purchase of a building? Ask us more about coating or our buildings.